


Not a Fucking Unicorn!

by Jonghyun_Appa



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Beta Hermione Granger, Beta Ron Weasley, F/M, Female Harry, Female Harry Potter, M/M, Multi, Omega Harry Potter, Pack Dynamics, Reverse Harem, The Black Family is Everywhere, fem harry, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:49:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29667564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jonghyun_Appa/pseuds/Jonghyun_Appa
Summary: Hafwen Potter's 21st birthday came and went with no changes. Happy to be one of the millions of Beta's in the world she continues as she means to go on. No Lone Alpha Madness and No Heats. Life was golden, until she was invited out by her best friends in celebration of their engagement. She really should have listened to her papa when he said that Potter's were always late bloomers, even though statistics showed that only 0.01% of the population had a delayed presentation.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Blaise Zabini, Fleur Delacour/Bill Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy, Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks, Sirius Black/James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 26
Kudos: 105





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, so..... I've been inspired by A/B/O for a while now, and there's a few good ones on here that have got me hooked. I know I should really be working on Harriet Coulson but I've lost my memory stick with the chapters on and haven't found it during the UK's Lockdown 3.0. 
> 
> I also have no idea where this is going. This is literally a random thing. I apologize in advance. 
> 
> This may also be never be expanded on. So I'm going to say completed for now and if you want to see if there's any updates on this story then subscribe/bookmark/mark for later.
> 
> THANK YOU!!

It goes without saying that Hafwen was well and truly fucked. As her gaze stayed glued to the glass she held in her hand while sat at the bar, she breathed carefully though her teeth. Luckily the bar she was in was rented out for the night, unluckily there were multiple Alpha's in attendance and it only took one to scent her out and for her life to change more irrevocably than it already was. 

_It's not like this makes you a fucking unicorn_ , she thought still not daring to lift her gaze or move as if that would trigger a giant neon sign that said 'Newly presenting Omega come and get it!'. Most, if not all, of the populations secondary gender designation usually kicked in during puberty and settled around the time of their twenty-first birthday. Twenty percent of those would be Omega and they usually settled by their nineteenth birthday. Alpha's tended to take until their twenty-first because of the need to find pack brothers or sisters and then settle those bonds that are formed. Those that did not present as Alpha or Omega were Beta, of those Beta only a 0.01 percent ever present as either Alpha or Omega after their twenty-first. 

Hafwen has always been designated as Beta and she was proud of that fact. As a Beta she didn't have to worry about Heat cycles and nesting, as a Beta she didn't have to worry about forming bonds with a pack unless she really wanted to. As a Beta she could continue her life as normal, go clubbing with friends without Omega scent blockers and visit her mum and dads without the strain of aggression that inevitably would arise as a Lone Alpha near an established pack regardless of familial ties. She could be normal, or as close to it as she could be while being rejected by Alphas who only wanted Omega's and the media that made everyone believe it was amazing to be an Omega and everyone had to be one. She wasn't bitter about that fact, nope not at all. Beta's were awesome but they also got shit on by the worlds established bigotry. 

"Fuck my life", she muttered as somewhere behind her an Alpha passed leaving a sticky sweet flavor on her tongue that lead to her squeezing her thighs together and swallowing a whimper. Alpha scents had never bothered her before. They were heavy and aggressive, and sometimes when her parents butted heads and filled the room all she wanted to do was open a window just so she could _breathe_. They'd never made her feel how she was feeling now. Like blankets of scent wrapping around her, touching intimately, even when they weren't flavors she particularly liked. Case in point, the passing Alpha who's scent was too much like cough medicine. The aniseed kind, _blech_! 

"Fuck who's life?" Hafwen darted her eyes to the right as her best friend, and the bloody reason she was even there at all, came to rest beside here. She noted the moment Hermione caught her perfuming scent and ran her finger over the condensation on the glass that was slowly becoming the only thing keeping her sane and where she was, "Shit, what's the plan?" 

Hermione had straightened but her eyes were blown and she was tilting forwards as if getting ready to rub their cheeks together, Hafwen leaned left and turned her head properly. Hermione was Beta, along with her other friend who she spotted striding towards them with a frown on his face, she was safe with them. She would always be safe with them. They weren't pack, because Beta's were not allowed to _form_ one, but they had shared a flat together while finishing Uni and had been best friends since secondary school. "I need to head to the center. They can help."

"Right. Right, let's get Ron and get you out of here before..." Hermione trailed off and grimaced, "Let's just get you out of here. Do you think you can walk alone?"

Hafwen nodded just as Ron joined them, his nostrils flaring from her scent as he blinked and shook his head slightly. Ron was Beta but he still had a few Alpha mannerisms, he said it was the product of being raised by a family in which four of his five brothers were Alpha, Hermione and her believed he might be part of the 0.01 percent that presented late. Looks like the joke was on her. 

"There's a route out the back by the ladies toilets. It's the closest exit and you don't have to walk past everyone." Ron spoke quietly, still keeping his distance and Hafwen slid off of the bar stool and braced herself against it, "I'll distract everyone while Hermione get's you out. Take my car."

"Thanks." Hafwen sighed as Ron gave Hermione his keys, "Sorry to ruin your night."

"Nothing to ruin, mate. Just get there safe, I'll keep my brothers away and we'll see you on the other side. I'll let your parent know too." Ron smiled softly as he reached out a hand and ruffled her hair gently, she batted his hand away before she shivered as a wave of need hit her. There was a lingering scent of campfires on his sleeve that made her lean up and breathe deep and moan softly, "Shit." 

Ron stepped back bringing his arm across his chest and grabbing his sleeve as Hafwen tipped forward chasing the scent, "Shit. I've just been with Charlie."

"I'll get her out of here." Hermione spoke as she wrapped an arm around Hafwen's shoulder and moved her away from Ron, a small whimper left her lips as she was dragged away from the intoxicating scent of Alpha that made her want to drop down on her knees, throw her ass in air and whine for mercy until she was filled with -

"Yeah, get her safe." Ron was backing further away, turning so she could only see his profile before Hermione fully turned her away and they were carefully moving towards the ladies toilets and the back door that would lead to freedom. To Hafwen's new normal. To Hafwen's worst nightmare. 

Fuck her and her gods damned Potter Luck. 

Hermione pulled her closer towards her and Hafwen tucked her head into the other woman's neck, the soothing scent of books and ink filled her senses calming the aching need that had filled her moments before. Beta scents were soothing, neutral, safe. 

"I didn't know." Hafwen murmured against her friends neck, "It just... It just hit me. I'm sorry." 

"Nothing to be sorry about Haf. You're twenty-six there's no way you could have known you'd fall into the 0.01 percent of the Beta population that would be classed as a Late Presentation." Hermione's no nonsense voice soothed the fog and the biological insanity that had filled Hafwen three rounds in at the bar as she waited for her friends to finish being congratulated by family. "I think it's quite remarkable. The latest anyone has presented was age thirty-two, an Alpha I think during World War 2. You Papa also presented late as well, if I remember."

"Yeah, twenty-two though and he was already in a relationship with mum and her pack so I don't think that really counts." They'd made it to the car and Hermione was already opening the passenger side door to the black SUV and bundling her in. Ron's toffee and sugar scent filled the cab and she leaned her head back as she shifted in place on the leather seats as Hermione made her way to the drivers side. 

"Let's get you to the Omega Center, Haf. You're coming in strong and they can help, much more than Ron and I can." Hafwen gave a small hum as she shifted again, squeezing her thighs together as another flush of heat stole though her body. 

The Omega Center was good. The Omega Center could teach her about her perfume, heat cycles, Alpha and Omega courting. Setting her up with a pack. She swallowed, she wasn't ready for a pack, she wasn't ready for any of this. She didn't want to present as Omega, she didn't want a heat. Her lashed fluttered as she closed her eyes, the sound of Hermione starting the car made the engine rumble and the seat vibrate with the inbuilt masage that Ron must have left on. _Why did he leave it on!_ She reached out to turn the function off, it only pushed her need higher. Helped it push though her inner denial that this was happening, that she was about to start a heat cycle. That she would soon find herself a member of a pack, the center piece of a wheel that she'd wanted no part of regardless of how amazing her mum and dads had been growing up. That hadn't been who she was, who she is, who she wanted to be. 

"Everything's going to be okay, Hafwen." Hermione's voice was soft as she joined the late night traffic. Hafwen wanted to believe her but they both knew that it wasn't going to be okay. Nothing would be okay again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 24/02/2021 04:32GMT


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This needs to leave me alone. 
> 
> Thanks for the Kudos to those that have read so far. You are the best. 
> 
> I realised I didn't put a disclaimer but if it's not already noticed I own nothing, I make nothing off of writing this other than to get the idea out of my head and to practice typing. And spelling. God my spelling is awful.
> 
> Anyway, thank you. I appreciate it. Really, I do.

"Now, just because you've chosen a pack. Well, when you chose one, it doesn't mean you have to bond to all members." Director McGonagall spoke clearly with a Scottish brogue that reminded Hafwen of a spunky chinese girl a few years ahead of her at school. The elder woman was flanked by two Beta's with benign faces across the table from her, all three of them smiling softly. 

"Some packs have ten or more Alphas," one of the women, who's name escaped her at that moment in time, informed her causing Hafwen's eyes to widen and dart to the door to their right.

Director McGonagall shot a sharp look at the woman before shifting in her seat, "Well, yes. Some have more than ten but as I said there is no expectation for you to bond with all of them. However, it is advised with large packs that you don't pursue them if only one or two Alpha's are of interest to you, no matter how enticing. It may...irritate dynamics. Our goal here at the Center is to bring an Omega and her pack together safely and to the best interest to them and their future pack." 

Hafwen felt sick as she twisted her hands and nodded. She'd been there for three days, Hermione bringing her up to the door but not being allowed to enter further than that. Only members of the Omega Center and those that needed their help were allowed entry and as Hermione had been neither, Hafwen had entered alone. She couldn't really complain, heading back to the flat she'd shared with Ron and Hermione hadn't been an option. As Beta's they didn't go out of their way to purchase the ridiculously expensive scent blocking products, they didn't have a room as a designated 'nest'. There was no way that Hafwen could have retreated and ridden out her heat, couldn't go back to her perfect Beta life. It's just this wasn't what she wanted. She also had no idea what to expect. Yeah, she was the daughter of a pack that had all three designates but when her papa's secondary gender kicked in he'd already had a bond to her mum and so nothing really changed. They'd been a small pack, three Alpha strong with two Beta until papa had presented as Omega. There had been no need for the Omega Center, no need because they'd already had everything in place. So in place they'd been about to register to find their Omega through the center. 

She took a deep breath, the sterile smell of the scent blockers causing her to wrinkle her nose in irritation. So far she'd had her blood levels checked, been set in different rooms to build nests that didn't feel like _hers_ because they didn't feel like **home**. Filled in countless forms about her sexual habits and preferences that had her blushing for hours, had been given options on birth control and was now covered for the next two years. Just like that. No awkward conversations that Beta's had to go through because of course Omega's were more fertile (they weren't) and Beta's weren't as sexually active (they had healthy sex drives thank you very much). After all that she'd finally been brought before the women in front of her now, because packs had to come up at some point and her heat, while manageable at the moment, was still coming in and she still needed help. 

"Usually, you would have been visiting us before your heat cycles began." Hafwen rolled her eyes at Scottish woman who only smiled sympathetically like that was going to make a difference, "But given the...delay in your perfume's development -"

"Late presentation." Hafwen interrupted with a sarcastic grin. 

"Yes, late presentation. There's also the accelerated rate at which your hormones are trying to compensate for the timeline has inevitably changed too." McGonagall pursed her lips, "We could help you medically, numb you through the heat, but as of yet there is no way to make the experience..."

"Tolerable." the woman from earlier interrupted again, Hafwen thought her name was Andromeda, earning herself another sharp look and for Hafwen to swallow thickly at the thought of being in pain for however long it took for her heat to take. 

"So, I have to find a pack and, what? Bond?" She took a breath feeling her temper rise, "Just lay there and take it while thinking of England? Or whatever the hormones are going to make me think? Or the other option is pain regardless of how much medication will be in my system? Unaware and so out of it for god's knows how long?" She rose to her feet and stumbled away from the table and the three women watching her carefully, "Sex. Knot. Bite. Sleep. Repeat? Is that it? Is that what my life equates to now?"

"No."

"No?" Hafwen looked at the cool gaze of McGonagall.

"No. You don't have to bond. It's important that you know that. That if you chose a pack they will be informed of such, a bond should never be rushed. Never forced. Mating isn't even necessary to see you through the heat."

Hafwen watched as Andromeda rolled her eyes and gave her a look that might as well have said, 'Yeah, but you'll beg for it', and she believed her. She'd been ready to drop in front of Ron after catching just a sniff of that campfire scent on his sleeve, ready for him to fil-

She shook her head and moved back to her seat, taking a sip from the glass of water the third woman had placed on the table.

"Any self-respecting Alpha has the good sense to restrain his basest urges for that consent" McGonagall lifted her chin imperiously, "And we only take on those that have that good sense."

"If your heat progresses faster than it is at the moment a pack can help you be comfortable and cared for without penetrative sex." Andromeda said and McGonagall nodded in agreement. 

Hafwen blinked. As much as she'd been raised in a pack there was still much she didn't know. Her parents didn't speak of their courting stage, because there hadn't really _been_ one, but because they didn't feel a need to explain. She'd presented as nothing but Beta, had no desire for finding or joining an Alpha pack. Hadn't really clicked with the packs that had formed back in secondary school during puberty and all they entailed. Sure she'd seen the gifts that had been given to her papa from everyone in their small pack but she'd never known that Alphas would keep a lid on their knot for the sake of an Omega that didn't want to form a bond. It was... strange but so promising and appealing. Like maybe she wouldn't have to fully give herself up to this designation that had swung like a wrecking ball into her life. 

"Okay." She took a breath of the sterile air again, "Okay. So how do I find a pack? Do they come here or...?"

"God's no. They don't come her, that would be a feeding frenzy. No, we have these." McGonagall snapped her fingers and the other two women in the room placed thick black folders on the table in front of her. "These are scent cards. We'll narrow down who you meet this way. It's effective and more efficient that dragging you around city to visit everyone."

"Less stressful for you as well." Andromeda muttered as she bit her lip before placing a red folder on the table as well, completely ignoring the stern look from McGonagall. "You never know." she muttered in response before returning to her position. 

Hafwen's eyes widened as she pulled one of the thick folders to her and opening it, revealing plastic sealed paged with small white cards similar to perfume testers in department stores. The first page was labeled _Pack 62442._ "A bit impersonal don't you think?"

"I bit, but science guarantees that if you don't enjoy the scent then you most certainly wouldn't enjoy the Alpha it belongs to."

"Right." Hafwen paused and looked up at the three women from under her lashes, "So, I what? Get sniffing then?"

All three women nodded, like it was the most reasonable thing in the world.

"Right." Hafwen felt sick again. There was no way in which this was going to end well. 

* * *

"It's been three days Lily-Flower! Three days! And she hasn't called!"

Liliyana Potter could feel a headache coming on, for three days straight James Potter had been pacing the hallway in which the house phone sat flipping between emotions like they were different flavored jelly beans that their packmate Nymphadora was fond of. When Ron Weasley had called to say their daughter was being taken to the Omega Center due to being a late presenter the pack had been out of sorts.

James, as their Omega, had immediately wanted to chase down their daughter and bring her back to the nest. Swallow her in pillows and blankets to keep her safe, help her through her heat in any way that he could. In anyway to soothe his baby girl who he loved and cherished regardless that he'd thought her a Beta. Like they'd all thought her a Beta. Before he'd flipped and started pacing by the phone, only stopping when his thoughts would hit something else and he'd retreat to the den to sulk and cry over his 'baby Prongslet growing up too fast'. His crisp cotton scent gaining a salty tang from his tears before the cycle would start again.

Sirius Black, an Alpha, a bonded mate to James and Lily both, had started laughing at the Potter Luck and how he couldn't wait to pamper and spoil their precious 'Prongslet'. Then the thought of Alpha's sniffing around their child had him storming into the garage and the sounds of crunching metal and the scent of motor oil stopped a single one of them following. His angry burning scent kept them away as well. Not even James, the only one other than Hafwen known to soothe the 'Black Madness' would go near. None of them would, not until they knew something about Hafwen. 

Remus Lupin, another Alpha, retreated to their library. Researching in a way he hadn't done since James came into his designation all those years ago. Only leaving the room to wash and eat with the rest of them or to spent time with his bonded Beta and son. Barely acknowledged Dora of Lily coming in to place blankets around his shoulders when he fell asleep at the library table or on the sofa. 

Nymphadora Lupin, a Beta who'd joined their pack after Hafwen had brought her home to sleep off her drunken state, had shuffled her seven year old son away from them and began a storm of cooking in the kitchen that hid the majority of the stressful scents that had been building, including that of her sons who was missing Hafwen terribly. 

Lily, as a bonded Alpha to James and the mother of Hafwen, she'd sighed used to their daughter's brand of chaos. She'd been there with James in the den soothing him to sleep among the many blankets and pillows that carried all of their scents including Hafwen's baby blanket that James would rub his face into. Scent marking in a way he couldn't do to soothe his child. Lily had also kept in touch with Ron and Hermione, letting them know that she hadn't heard anything and that as soon as she did she'd let them know. Lily has also phoned all their places of work and called in the annual leave they had all accumulated so they could be home as a pack and not have to worry about that on top of worrying for their child. The leftovers that Dora made were carefully packaged and given to local shelters and food banks. She made sure that little Teddy went to school, picked him up at the end of the day because routine was everything to the boy but the closer it came to Hafwen's weekly visit the more restless he became. 

"I know James." She stood from the seat that she'd dragged from the dining room into the hall on the second day, and wrapped her arms around her distressed husband gently rubbing her cheek against his in comfort, "I know. She'll call when she can." 

"But what if she doesn't? What if she forgets us? What is her pack refuses to let us see her?" Lily closed her eyes as the sour note of distress leaked into James' scent.

"Everything will be fine. You'll see." Gently she guided James into the den and towards the back left corner where a pile of pillows and blankets were gathered. Red, gold, silver, green, yellow and black pillows piled haphazardly as they sunk into the softness together, her hands stroking down his back as they settled. James' head buried in her neck breathing her in as she purred long and loud, the vibrations from her chest helping to soothe her worries as well. James hummed, the salty scent of tears drifting though the air. 

It felt like only moments later when the door to the den opened, Lily looked over carefully as she continued to run her fingers through James mop of messy brown hair. The scent of grease and exhaust became stronger and Sirius made his way closer, settling behind James and pulling them both towards him a purr rumbling stutteringly in his chest. Lily closed her eyes, burying her nose in James' hair as she caught the faint scent of old texts (Remus), gunpowder (Dora) and acrylic paints (Teddy). Silently they all laid in the nest of blanket and pillows, Remus' purr joining both Lily and Sirius' as they calmed and soothed each other waiting for their baby girl to let them know she was all okay. That everything would be fine regardless of the changes that would follow, because they were family now and always even if Hafwen would have her own pack soon. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 24/02/2021 15:38GMT


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is hard. I can't decide on who to put in the pack. Well, it's more like the people I want in a single pack wouldn't work?  
> I feel like I need so create a spin off with those other members in their own pack with another Female Harry Potter.  
> It wouldn't work. Not fully anyway. Not in they way I want it to. Maybe if I change the ages? We shall see. 
> 
> Maybe I'm going to have to break the rules a little. Just a little. Maybe a lot. 
> 
> Thank you for the Kudos and bookmarks. As I said I don't know where this is going but it refuses to leave me alone so. Here you go.
> 
> Thank you.

Hafwen snapped the second black ring binder closed and raised her hand, rubbing her fingertips into her temples as she tried to stave of the headache that had been building since she was a third of the way through the first folder. Her Potter luck was really loving her at this moment in time because out of the four hundred strong selection of pack scent cards she'd only found one, _one_ that she'd found ever remotely tolerable. Only just tolerable, in a way that didn't make her immediately start dry heaving within seconds. 

**One pack.**

She closed her eyes, maybe she was just broken? It could happen, she'd presented late, it wasn't out of the realm of possibilities with her. Maybe she wasn't even a proper Omega and this was just her time of the month coming in with a vengeance since the last one was easy? That could be a thing right? Right?

 _The campfire was nice_ , she reminded herself as she opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of the added red folder that McGonagall had moved aside after she had grabbed the first black one. She thought that the older woman was hoping she'd miss it and not bother. It seemed that that folder may be her only hope of having a proper pack to ride this heat out and then go about her life with scent blockers and suppressors. The suppressors couldn't be to hard on her if it wasn't her first heat right?

"Well, one is better than what we started with." Hafwen hummed in acknowledgement but didn't know if should tell the Scott that she wasn't too giddy about them. Their scents weren't abrasive, not like the others that had started the pinching headache, but they reminded her of air fresheners. Pleasant, but synthetic. Tolerable, but nothing that made her want to rub against them, to tilt her neck and take thei-

Yeah, they weren't what her Omega hormones wanted. Physically or biologically but they'd be nice just the same if they were the only ones she was left with. 

"We do have this one." McGonagall pushed the red folder closer causing Hafwen to groan before she sat up straight and grimaced. 

"Sorry. I know you're trying to help."

"It's okay." McGonagall gave a soft smile, the softest look she'd had so far, "Most of our current packs are young, newly settled, biting at the bit to find their Omegas. We do keep some of the old files on hand. Lapsed subscriptions, those that have asked for a break after being passed over. And... maybe with you being older than our usual Omega in need of courting, you may appreciate a more mature pack." 

"Mature? Like my parents age?" Hafwen could feel the panic at someone her papa's age. 

"Not that high. Maybe five years? Ten as a maximum. But they'd be more around your age than as young as, say, eighteen or nineteen." McGonagall was quick to reassure her as she no doubt filled the room with a distressed scent, more than she had been at least.

"Lapsed subscriptions?" She nodded as she pulled the red folder closer but still not opening it. 

"We don't take on all pack that need an Omega. There are interviews and background checks and investigations. Those require fees."

"Right." Hafwen nodded, wasn't that what her parents were about to do before papa presented? They'd have been just another numbered pack with scent cards in a folder that basically read as a Little Black Book. And when they couldn't pay anymore, or were tired of the constant stream of rejection of Omega's being paraded through their homes that they'd built for them... She looked at the red folder. 

What a fucking system.

Right. She could do this, sitting straighter she took a deep breath as she flipped the folder open. Much like the black folder there were plastic sealed pages with more of those stupid white scent cards. More numbers, more packs that had probably been waiting for a long time. Longer than those in the black folders in any case. Hafwen rolled her shoulders, twisting her body side to side like she was about to run a marathon, and she heard Andromeda snort softly somewhere behind her. She could do this. 

She could give these lapsed packs a chance that they wouldn't normally get. 

Aggressive cinnamon. 

Play-doh that reminded her of Teddy. 

Freshly cut grass that caused her to step away for a bit as she went on a sneezing fit. So not her thing, no one liked snotty kisses or to be sneezed of constantly. McGonagall had to put the scent card back into the folder as Andromeda sprayed some scent blocker and the third woman handed her a box of tissues. Such an efficient bunch these ladies were. 

She was almost dreading the next one when she caught fire and brimstone, she smiled softly as she picked up another card from the sheet and found ancient texts. Another of grease and exhaust fumes... The last she knew before she scented it, fresh cotton. She melted a little. 

"Another winner?" 

"More like family." Hafwen smiled, "This is my parents pack. They were all set to find their Omega when my papa presented. A late bloomer like me." 

"Ah." McGonagall smiled in understanding as Hafwen placed her papa's scent card back into the folder, her fingers gently running over them before she flipped the page, "I think I remember them. Such a panicked phone call we received before a lovely woman calmly apologized for taking up our time. I did wonder what happened to them."

"Papa's probably panicking and mum will be trying to be calm and keep everything together. Dad will probably be in the garage muttering darkly over his bikes about anything and everything before he'll come back in for snuggles." She grinned as she continued. Some scents were too floral, some too sweet, some too heavy.

Tobacco before it was smoked... She hesitated, her head tilted to the side as she took another sniff. It was natural, non abrasive to her senses. It may not have been something she would have chosen for herself it wasn't totally unpleasant. She picked one of the other scent cards in the pack, air after a storm. Another smelled of exotic spices and musk. They were also a five Alpha strong pack, a little larger that her parents. Not too intimidating. She nodded at McGonagall who smirked and removed the sleeve from the folder. 

More pages were turned and Hafwen realized that if she really hated just one scent within one of the numbered packs she wasn't going to like the rest and so she was going much faster now. It was much easier and her headache was almost gone when she was nearing the end of the folder and it hit her. 

Burning wood. Toasted marshmallows. Wet leaves. Pine and ash. A whimper escaped her lips and she pressed her thighs together. Around the room the Beta's all tensed.

This was _him_. The scent on Ron's sleeve, the one he'd brushed her hair with. Fuck, he smelled even better than the small whiff she'd gotten before. She wanted to take the scent card back to her shitty little nest in one of the other rooms and just -

There were eight cards in total, not a full thirteen but not as small as the other packs she'd found either. There was also no guarantee that she'd like all of them. Everything was fine. She bit her lip as she reached for the second card...

 _Fuck_. Black coffee, sweet and bitter and rich. Her mouth watered as she swallowed, placing the card back she reached for the glass of water and took a generous gulp as she shifted in her seat. She could feel the eyes of the other women boring into her. This was her most visceral reaction yet and she'd only scented _two_ of the eight Alpha's. Another reminded her of snow days, all cold and icy, not a favorite but still leagues better than the other two packs she'd chosen so far. 

The fourth made her groan deep in her chest and her eyes to roll into the back of her head. Dark chocolate with a hint of something spicy in the background. Arousal spiraled through her blooming in her core like it had just been waiting for this moment her entire life. 

Hafwen wanted to surround herself with these men, of which she was sure they were, and give them everything. If they were to walk into the room, regardless of the three Beta's here with her she'd happily let them bend her over the table and just _claim her_. Take their knots. Let them _mark_ her skin with their **bites**. Another card and it was the soothing scent of roses and wet earth, like days in the garden with her mum working in the greenhouses. 

"That's the look of a very satisfied Omega with a potential pack." Andromeda had moved to stand beside McGonagall who was smiling softly across the table.

"Yeah?" Hafwen was breathless as another card gave her toffee apples and cotton candy. That was four of eight she enjoyed already and she'd only scented six of them. Could she just take her favorites while the Beta's made the calls? Would they mind? Was it against the rules? A small part of her that was still adamantly in denial was saying this was too fast. Her reactions too strong, she needed to take a step back. Several in fact, but she couldn't and she found herself reaching for that campfire again. It was the scent she'd caught on Ron. Did this mean it was one of his brothers? God. She'd only met them a couple of times but their scents had never really hit her in this way, she'd never really _paid attention_. She knew there was a set of twins, that the eldest brother worked in Egypt and was with a Beta he was planning to marry. That was the extent of her knowledge, other than the fact that four of his five brothers were Alpha. Was any of the other scent cards in this pack them? It wasn't unheard of for Alpha brothers to stay Alpha packmates. Just uncommon. 

"We'll make the calls." McGonagall spoke as she placed the scent card back. Hafwen smiled dreamingly up at the older woman. Three packs were good, though if she was going to fully embrace this designation then she knew regardless of what would happen she'd chose that final pack. None of the others had driven her into a lust filled haze as much as those four scents had. Hopefully she could also get them to accept allowing Hermione and Ron to be a part of it too. Beta's had to stick together and although she wasn't of that designation anymore her best friends would always be pack to her. If the Alpha's couldn't accept it than tough, she'd be a three person pack with them. 

* * *

There was a ringing sound coming from somewhere. James buried himself deeper into the blankets, his nose pressed against a chest that smelled distinctly of grease and motor oil. He nuzzled as he smiled softly, his grumpy mechanic had finally come out for snuggle time. The ringing continued and he felt a kiss pressed to the back of his head before the person laying behind him slowly extracted themselves from the pile. Probably Lily as the scent of brimstone spiked in her annoyance at being denied time in the snuggle pile. Sirius purred stutteringly as he gathered James close and kissed his forehead. 

"Sorry." James hummed softly at the Alpha in front of him, "The thought of Prongslet being out there without us as she came in..." A growl rumbled as the purring cut off and James was quick to lift his head and place a calming kiss on Sirius' stubble covered jaw.

"I know." Of course James knew, he also knew the panic his little girl must have been feeling as all the hormones raced. Speeding the heat cycle into a frenzy that called for an Alpha pack to soothe comfortably. James had been lucky, he'd had two Alpha's in his Lily-Flower and Sirius. Hafwen was all alone, she'd chosen only Beta's as friends. Had no want for a pack. Had no need for one. This was a big change, a change that James didn't know if his little summer blessed child would survive. 

The ringing had stopped. James was about to head back into sleep as Lily's scent spiked into the raging inferno of a house fire. He sat up, clocking Sirius in the jaw before scrambling from the nest he'd made. He was sure he heard a grunt when he'd passed over Remus and tripped over a stuffed wolf toy almost causing him to faceplant the door frame. A soft giggle of a child erupted behind him and he grinned.

"Oh Hafwen! Baby girl it's okay. We love you not matter what." James heard Lily pause as he came into the hall, the phone was cradled to her ear and her green eyes sparkled as she listened to their little girl on the other end of the line. "You did huh? Really? They kept them?" James made a hand grabby motion like a child as he scented the others in their pack coming up behind him. "Papa wants to talk to you. He's been going a little ma-"

"Prongslet?" James snatched the phone before Lily could say any more, a half hearted glare sent in her direction caused her to lean back and poke her tongue out at him. _The cheek of this woman!_

_"Papa? Oh Papa! You jinxed me."_

"Jinxed you? No Prongslet that's the Potter Luck. Chaos I tell you, complete Chaos." James slumped as he listed to Hafwen speak of what she'd been doing the past few days. Sirius came up behind him, resting his head of the opposite shoulder to the phone, carefully listening to their little girl. There was a slight note of panic when talking of the scent cards but he hummed in the right places even managing a shocked "No way!" when told their scents were in a graveyard folder of scents. Twenty-six years? He needed to give the center a ring and have them removed. They had an Omega thank you very much!

"You're okay though right?" He murmured when there was a break in speaking. 

_"I'm not going to lie Papa. I'm scared. It feels like my bodies against me but I'm coming to terms with everything. Slowly."_ There was a pause and James listed and Hafwen took a deep breath, " _I think I've found a pack though. So that's something. I'll be meeting them soon if all goes well."_

"Yeah?"

_"Yeah... Papa, I miss you all. I wish I was there with you."_

"I know baby girl." James felt tears in his eyes as he swallowed, "I know, but we'll be there when you come out."

_"Promise?"_

"Always." James promised as Sirius' stuttering purr rumbled behind him, Hafwen laughing wetly on the other end of the phone as if she could hear it before she said her goodbye's and hung up. James kept a hold of the receiver as he lowered it from his ear. Lily was immediately there, her purr loud and strong as she took the phone from him and placed it back on the cradle before wrapping her arms around both him and Sirius. He was vaguely aware of Remus ushering Dora and Teddy up to their rooms as his two Alpha's scent marked him in comfort their purrs vibrating his chest and back as they placed soft kisses to the top of his head and chest. 

"She's so alone." He murmured as he buried his face in Lily's crimson curls and breathed her in. 

"Not alone. Just away for a while." Sirius rumbled against the back of his neck.

James nodded but they all knew that the moment she found her pack she'd be away longer than a while. She'd be gone. Her scent will disappear from the house, from his nest. His baby girl now grown. The day he'd dreaded, feared almost more than the loss of his bonds.

"Everything thing will be fine, James. You'll see." Lily whispered back to him, squeezing him close as he closed his eyes and hoped. Hoped with all his heart that what Lily said was true. That everything would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 25/02/2021 02:21GMT
> 
> Can you guess the potential pack members? Should I give you a list of the scents for each pack to help out?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive me. 
> 
> I may need to change the rating on this story. It's going to get explicit soon. Heat cycles, you know? 
> 
> Don't set me on fire. Please. 
> 
> Thank you for the kudos, comments and bookmarks.

A choked off whine sounded through the room as Hafwen hid her head behind a grey velvet settee pillow that reminded her of her dad's eyes, a blush stealing over her face. Across the coffee table from her sat an elegant older Omega, Narcissa, who was hiding her smile behind the dainty china tea cup in her hand. The fist she'd just used to demonstrate the act of knotting now rested in her lap, where she was smoothing the edge of her skirt. 

"If you're thinking of yourself in terms of being a Beta, I'm sure it sounds uncomfortable. But I assure you, it's actually quite..." The elder Omega paused causing Hafwen to peak at her from behind her pillow, "Pleasant."

"Pleasant? Right." Hafwen muttered with a groan and a shake of her head. She knew how knots worked, she'd grown up in a pack. She knew that female Alpha's had a type of 'lock' and she'd walked into her parents rooms enough times as a kid to see more than she really wanted. She also knew that as a Beta her body hadn't been built to comfortably _take_ a knot, not that she'd been into Alpha's before now. She liked Beta's. Beta's were _safe_. 

Narcissa was her 'Omega mentor' for the afternoon, there to answer all of her questions. Not that she had very many, and the woman was more than happy to ~~torture~~ educate her in the meantime with anything and _everything_ that being an Omega entailed. It didn't help that Narcissa was an elegant and stylish stranger and Hafwen didn't feel completely comfortable asking her questions. Narcissa was a full head taller than Hafwen. Beautiful silver blonde hair pulled back into an elegant chignon at the nape of her neck, with pale skin and grey eyes a shade darker than the pillow she was hugging to her chest. Hafwen felt like a homeless person with her dark messy curls hastily stuffed into a bun and what had to be dark bags under her green eyes. It didn't help that while she was dressed in sweatpants and a cami, Narcissa was in a silky wrap dress with a plush shawl and tall black boots. This was an Omega who had found herself an extremely well off pack and was enjoying the benefit of being a pampered princess.

Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it wasn't really Hafwen's style. She was more of a hands on person. Adventurous, knee deep in mischief and mayhem. She blamed Papa and Dad for those character traits. Uncle Remus too when he was in the mood for it, or just wanting payback for having his sandy blond hair dyed pink one too many times. She remembered them getting Dora instead and the woman had continued with the pink look.

"How... how long does a heat typically last?" She had vague recollections of her mum and dad rushing Papa out of the house, brief kisses to her head and nuzzling cheeks. This big room with all the pillows and blankets and soft flooring. Where her papa would wrap her in his arms and they'd fall asleep surrounded by softness, like being in a cloud. As she'd grown her papa's heats had slowed, not stopped just slowed. More months between them than when she was younger. She hadn't been there for her papa's last heat because she's been at a training camp for work. **Work**. God, she hadn't told them. She'd been allowed one call yesterday and she'd phoned _home_. Phoned mum and papa, dad, Remus and Dora and Teddy.

Narcissa's head tilted and her eyes narrowed slightly in thought as she placed the tea cup down onto the saucer. "Oh, it's been a while. They were longer when I was younger, intense. Starting with just a feeling of oversensitivity. Anything too coarse on my skin had me stripping and -" she cut off and her gaze focused, "There was an extra focus on my Alpha's, more interest. More affectionate touches."

"Right, but _how long_?"

"It was usually like that for a week or so. I wanted to nest, built and re-built so they were perfect. Wanted affection no matter who was there or where we were." Narcissa paused and Hafwen held her breath, "The real heat, they height of it, is only a few days. Possibly a week, it depended."

Hafwen choked on her saliva. Narcissa grinned like a cat with cream. 

" _Days of..._ "

"Insatiable sexual appetite, yes," Oh, Narcissa was so laughing at her, Hafwen could tell. Could also tell that her cheeks were enflamed again and it was spreading down her neck and across her chest. Pale skin was a curse like that. Still. Hafwen was all for multiple _rounds_ of sex, but **days**. Days? How did that _work_? Just the thought of it made her tired but intrigued. But then she thought of her parents and she felt a little sick. Her adult brain now knowing why there were extended vacations to the summer house and why she'd only had Uncle Remus for company. 

"I was almost nineteen when I finally started perfuming." Narcissa picked up her tea cup again, "Not totally unheard of, but when most Omega's are _settled_ by that point. Well, it was later than most. I think it's also why they asked me to come and speak to you. They usually bring someone closer to your age in. To help."

"So it was a surprise for you too?" Hafwen asked carefully, reaching a shaking hand forward to pick up her own tea cup and taking a sip of the lukewarm liquid. Peppermint, nice. 

"Yes and no." Narcissa looked down into her cup, fingers absently playing with her rings. "It's not unheard of in my family to be a late presenter. My elder sisters were a Beta and Alpha respectively. It would have been perfectly okay to have stayed Beta, though our parents wanted the trifecta. Three daughters, all three designations... I suppose in my own way I was waiting but also preparing to _not_ be an Omega. I was more aware of the possibility than you would have been. Lone children of packs are known to be typically Alpha or Beta, very rare for them to be Omega without the backing of a _strong_ Omega bloodline. I had had the time to... explore my sexuality some before it finally hit. Even knowing what to expect, my first heat was a shift in perspective. Just be open to what you are feeling." 

Hafwen hummed and took another sip of her peppermint tea, she bit her lip as she thought. It felt strange to her that three sisters could be all three secondary gender designations, but then she thought of Ron's family filled with Alpha's. Thought of smoky campfires and dark chocolate. She shifted in her seat, rubbing her thighs together. 

"Did you... did you ever have a heightened response to any Alpha scents? Not just that you liked them, but that they made you..." She could feel the heat rising in her face again, reaching all parts of her body with a zing of arousal at the thought of those scents from that one pack. From that one page. 

Narcissa's eyes widened slightly, a faint redness colouring her cheeks and making the elder Omega look younger. "I did, yes."

"Your pack?"

There was a startled, yet pained expression that stole across the blondes features before she shook her head slightly before closing her eyes, "No. No, I liked my packs scents. But they weren't the most powerful attraction I encountered when I first perfumed." 

Hafwen frowned, setting her cup down, she'd only agreed to the three packs because McGonagall had said it was protocol. "Why? What made you change your mind? Were the Alpha's awful? Were they abusive?"

"No! No, they were wonderful," Narcissa said, her cup now back on is saucer on the table as she leaned forward an intense look in her grey eyes, "They were perfect. We were young. We courted, but there was no nest. No stability. I thought I was decided, my mind made up that it was them or _no one_ and then my heat came. It was too crowded in their flat. Too noisy. You could hear the neighbors from upstairs, the people on the street outside the windows. The cars going past at all hours of the night. There wasn't _anything_ they could **do**. They couldn't soothe me in a way that I needed. I was miserable and uncomfortable." She paused and took a breath, closed her pain filled eyes as she thought back to that time and Hafwen waited her heart breaking for this young pack that were trying to make it work, "I'm sure it sounds silly, but our biology can be an _incredible force_ in our happiness and I decided to let mine rule the decision. I loved them, but it wasn't enough."

Hafwen felt something wet against her hand, she looked down before lifting her hand to her face. Her cheeks were wet with tears. There was a pain in her chest for this regal woman in front of her who had tried. Who had tried and failed. Her pack wasn't her first choice, may have never had been a choice. She wondered what had happened to that first pack. Were they still together, were they still waiting?

"Do you?" She paused and bit her lip as Narcissa looked up, her eyes blood shot but still looking beautiful. 

"After my heat ended my pack took me to them. They were still there in that flat. My scent still lingered in the air. They were in a pile of my favorite blankets and pillows, purring." Narcissa swallowed, "My Alpha offered them a place in his pack. Only one accepted. Lucius... His scent called me the most. I was happy. I _am_ happy."

"I'm glad." And Hafwen was, it wasn't the happy ending it should have been but at least the elder woman was able to keep a part of that with her. It gave her hope that which ever pack she settled with, and her hopes were all on the third, that they would accept other members in their pack. Like Narcissa's had. Like her parents had when she'd brought Dora home and she'd gravitated towards Remus. 

"Me too." Narcissa smiled softly, warmly, before shaking her head. "Bonds. You must have questions about them." Hafwen nodded, blinking at the abrupt change in emotions. 

"Well, bonds are either the best or the worst of it. With the right pack, all the comfort an Alpha can give you personally suddenly becomes a part of your DNA. With the wrong pack, you'll feel overcrowded, stalked. The sense of someone constantly looking over your shoulder, unhealthy."

"How do you know that your decision is the right one?" Hafwen was frowning, if the bonds were so drastically different between a good or bad pack then her decision of the three she'd already selected was huge. The biggest she'd make. She didn't want to feel like there was a shadow looming overhead. She'd been Beta all her life. She'd been allowed to do her own things. Choose her own things. Yeah, she'd been on the receiving end of her mum or dad's bark a few times but it wasn't detrimental to her. It had kept her safe, let her know she'd been pushing it too far. Choosing a pack was looking like a risk she didn't know if she could take. Director McGonagall told her to follow her instincts but what if she ended up in a situation similar to Narcissa. Could she risk that?

"We all let different things drive our choices." Narcissa nodded as she thought about what she was going to say, "I compromised between instinct and practicality. It was the right decision for me, I was lucky to have an Alpha that was understanding enough to offer his pack for the one I'd left behind. I know Omega's who were bonding and knotting on the first night. I don't find sex so sacred that I couldn't let my self indulge and experiment with my pack before making a final choice. I would recommend the same to you. You've been a Beta, acting like a Beta your entire life. It's the mindset you have."

The older Omega paused, catching Hafwen's eyes and staring straight at her. It was a little intimidating. "Do not bond lightly. That **cannot** be undone." 

Hafwen nodded, swallowing sharply and grabbing the velvet grey pillow again as she buried her face in it. 

* * *

"You're out here again, huh?" Charlie frowned as he looked from the flames that were flickering in the fire pit to his youngest brother Ron. It was calming out here, in the woods at the back of the pack house. He wasn't sulking. He wasn't.

"You've got to come back in at some point." 

"No I don't" Yeah, Charlie was sulking. There he admitted it. It was Ron's fault anyway. His and that sharp smell of electricity that had haunted him since his brother had approached the family in the bar to say Hermione had to take Hafwen, their friend, to the Omega Center. All Ron had done was rub the back of his neck but as he's risen his hand that scent had hit and... Yeah, not Charlie's proudest moment. He'd practically rugby tackled Ron chasing that scent. Buried his nose in Ron's hand and breathed deep. Purring like a satisfied cat. He was pretty sure another of his brother's had joined him. Pretty sure he'd traumatized Ron. But it wasn't like the Omega Center was going to call. His pack had split a few years ago, tired of waiting. Tired of the rejection. Their personalities clashing so hard with one another in a way that hadn't happened in years, not since they'd first come together to give themselves their best chance. They'd created a company together, it had seemed like an ideal thing. It had been, but the longer they waited. The more Omega's that rejected them, the harder it became. 

"Yeah, you do." Ron settled on the seat next to him as he stubbornly turned his gaze back to the fire. Tried to ignore the thought of sharp electricity and what he knew of his brother's best friend. They'd met once, in passing barely something to remember but he knew she had the greenest eyes he'd ever seen. They reminded him of copper sulfate fires in chemistry. "There's a bunch of guys in there getting their panties in a twist over calls that they received today."

"Calls?" Charlie frowned and Ron merely grinned at him.

"Yeah, the Omega Center. They want you to renew. Which you would know if you'd been there to answer." That jolted Charlie into sitting upright, swinging his sharp blue gaze to his brother.

" ** _What!?_** " It was a bark, he knew it was a bark. The way Ron jerked, told him he'd just barked a _command_ , but his mind was stuck on the fact the Omega Center had **called**. He was sure he'd told them to take them out of their books. They weren't looking, hell they weren't even a pack anymore. 

"The Center called. They have an interested Omega. She wants an interview. You don't have to turn in back pay, just need to renew. Let them know if there's any new members." Charlie's mind was spinning. There were no new members because they _weren't_ a pack anymore. He ignored Ron's glare as he stumbled to his feet, moving through the trees along the trail back to the house. His house. The old pack house. The one they'd saved with their own money from their work and not with the trust funds that some of the members had inherited. They'd wanted to make it **theirs**. They had, and Charlie had been living here with his brother's that had been his pack from the day they'd been born. Yeah, Ron had moved out to live with Hermione and Hafwen but there would always be a place for him to come back to. They were pack. They were family. 

There was chaos as he stepped through the back door into the main hall. It was a wide open planned space. Light and airy, perfect for a large group. Now it was filled with the scents of aggression, worry and anxiousness. It was also filled with the loud deep voices of pack brother's he hadn't seen for a while. They spoke via phone, never meeting. It was safer for all of them. The end became violent. He spotted Hermione in the corner, brown eyes darting worryingly to each Alpha before resting on the door that he'd just come through. Waiting for Ron no doubt. Beside her was Fleur, Bill's bonded Beta. She was calmer than the younger Beta beside her but not by much. This was still a room full of arguing Alpha's. There was a third there, a male, who was watching quietly almost bored. 

"-Wouldn't have come back _at all_ if I hadn't received that bloody call!" Charlie's gaze darted straight to the middle of the group where Bill was stood nose to nose with Theodore Nott. Usually the tall accountant was calm but it seemed that the call had set off all of his trigger's, and Bill was one of the only ones that would happily walk into _every single one of them_. It came part and parcel with his job. He called it acquisitions. Charlie called it tomb raiding. It didn't matter that he'd met Fleur through it, turned it legitimate by dealing with antiques instead. You could take the tomb raiding out of it but he knew first chance he got Bill would go back to that lifestyle. Bloody adrenaline junkies. 

"You didn't have to. Pretty sure we're still a pack without you." Bill snarled back, not backing down. His sand storm of a scent gaining a sharp heat that made Charlie swallow and wish for a glass of water. 

" ** _Enough!_** " His bark cracked across the room, causing the three Beta's to stand straight. Rigid. It also had the nice effect of causing the group to become silent and look towards him. He heard the door behind him clack as it opened and then closed. Ron slowly and carefully moving around him to stand next to Hermione and pulling her into his embrace. 

"Now. What's this I hear about a phone call?" And the noise came to a crescendo as everyone spoke at once. He could feel a headache forming. He also needed a drink. A strong one. And figure out how to get everyone to agree to see this Omega, to try and make this work again. Because if it was Hafwen. If it was that sharp crack of electricity that still ignited all his nerve endings then he wasn't letting his pack brothers stop him from getting that. Letting them all get it. Hope was a fragile thing but he could feel it rising again.

Three hours later Charlie was back by the fire pit. His pack brother's scattered in the house, back in their rooms that had been abandoned when everyone left. He finally had a beer in his hands, along with his phone. He was still hesitating. They had one more brother, flying in to arrive in the early hours of the morning. Everyone would be back. They'd also be moving back to the house in the city for the interview. He was pretty sure that Theo had kept that place clean, it had been his before everything. A bas of operations closer to the heart of the city and the airport.

Charlie's heart felt light, his instincts soothed for the first time since everyone had left. It was strange. He didn't know how tense he'd been. How wound up. He heard the snap of a twig behind him and he turned sharply to see Ron and Hermione watching him. He rolled his eyes and turned back to the fire. Ron had been the most perceptive of all of them. Hermione balanced him well with her emotional understanding. He wondered what part Hafwen had played in their trio and shook his head before his thoughts spiraled.

"You okay?" He grunted at the question from Ron who sat and pulled Hermione onto his lap. Her cheeks heated as she swatted at his brother and then sat bedside him furthest away from Charlie. It was understandable. They had come to blows earlier and he was sure he was developing a beautiful bruise on his jaw. 

"Best I can be considering. Just needed space to..." He waved the phone in his hand and received an understanding nod in return. 

"If it is Hafwen. And she does chose you all. I want you to know that I'll kick your arse if you hurt her. Hermione and I both." Charlie grinned at Ron's protectiveness. 

"Yeah?"

"Yes." Ron nodded, Hermione copying him. Charlie chuckled at the backbone of the two of them. Damn Beta's always made him chuckle when they had backbones. It was cute. Not that he'd tell them. He'd made the mistake of saying that to Fleur only _once_. **Never again**. 

"I may have been confident in there but she's not going to choose us." Charlie sighed, "We're broken. Haven't been pack for years. Tensions are too high. Those folders are filled of settled packs with mansions, doctors and private planes. Omega's want pretty nests with grounded Alpha's. Stability. Not ones that can't stay in a room for more than a second before one is storming away in anger."

"Then you don't know Hafwen." Hermione had a determined glint in her gaze when Charlie looked up at her, "This place is perfect for her. It's a little like her parent's pack house. She's not big on pretty things and I bet she'd keep you all in one place long enough to make up. It's who she is." Ron nodded in agreement and Charlie couldn't help but snort. An Omega who didn't like pretty things? He'd eat his weight in earwax flavored jelly beans if that were true. 

"Also, she'd have a pretty nest. I've seen that room, it's her favorite colour. You'll be fine." 

Charlie sighed at his brother and his fiancée, "And what if she doesn't accept Fleur? Of that blond guy? What then?"

"She'll accept them. She'll probably be worried that you won't accept us. We've all been together long enough to think of each other as pack. Yeah, laws state Beta's can't create a pack with each other but..." Ron shrugged and looked at Hermione who just smiled softly, and Charlie wished. Oh, he wished that it was Hafwen who'd asked to meet. Wished like he'd never wished before. Because his pack were back, with added extras but he'd maybe also have Ron. And in extension, Hermione. He'd have his brothers back and an Omega to spoil and... It was almost too perfect. He looked at the phone in his hand. Took a deep breath. Called the Omega Center as he stared into the flames, his voice low as he renewed their subscription. Ignored the soft smiles from Ron and Hermione. Ignored the hope blooming in his chest as he thought of green eyes and sharp electricity. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 25/02/2021 17:11GMT
> 
> Marauder Pack  
> James - Omega - Fresh cotton, starched shirts  
> Lily - Alpha - Fire and brimstone, heat  
> Sirius - Alpha - Grease, exhaust fumes, petrol/motor oil  
> Remus - Alpha - Ancient texts, old book stores  
> Dora - Beta - Gunpowder, oil, metalic  
> Teddy - Not presented - Acrylic paints, charcoal
> 
> Hafwen - Omega - Ozone, sharp electricity, treacle  
> Hermione - Beta - Freshly made books, ink stains  
> Ron - Beta - Toffee sweets, sugar syrup, rain
> 
> So, a few more members of the pack revealed and yeah. This was hard. Trying to figure it out. I hope I've done it justice.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm being vague with the scents. Too ambiguous.  
> We shall see though. I think you may like my choices. Possibly?
> 
> Do you want me to keep posting scent profiles in the notes at the end? Would that help at all or is that a silly thing to do?  
> I admit I have a notebook on hand with character names, designations, different packs, jobs, appearances, quirks.  
> Would you like those notes posted separately at the end? In a collection?
> 
> I admit to having more ideas that I've jotted into margins so I don't forget while 'stuck' on this one.  
> Would you want them posted too?
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos and bookmarks.  
> To the commenter's I thank you as well. You've given me much to think on. To decide. 
> 
> Thank you.

Hafwen took a deep breath of relief as she glanced at Pack Shacklebolt's home as they pulled away in the Center's SUV. Relief because each man was as old as her papa. Relief because as soon as they'd arrived Andromeda had taken one look at unsmoked tobacco and said "Cousin." Yeah, _no thank you_. He also looked like a younger version of her dad if he ever wore suits and shaved. Maybe if he cut his hair too? Don't get her wrong the pack house was exquisite. Absolutely beautiful. She could totally she herself living there. There was even an orchard in the grounds where she could spent hours just exploring. The pack was... sweet. For lack of a better word. And it made her feel both anxious and special when their eyes lit up every time she focused her attention on them. 

The nesting room...

Very tempting. It made all of the nests she'd made at the Center look like badly made children's pillow forts. She'd not seen the appeal of one. Her Beta brain not understanding the need of one. And yeah, they were great when her papa was feeling out of sorts but nothing to write home about. Regulus, Andromeda's cousin, had shown her the small room by a garden bursting full of lilies, dimly lit by a skylight. An enormous platform bed covered by every pillow known to man, and the fluffiest duvet in a rich emerald green. She'd finally felt like an Omega looking at that nest. Like she should stay there for days and Alpha's would run around bringing her chocolate and treacle tart. No questions asked. It was a wonderful dream. But the word 'cousin' made her flinch, and an image of an overly large boy next to a bony woman flashed across her eyes. They didn't speak much of mum's sister, but Hafwen still _remembered_. She rubbed her arm absentmindedly.

"I would assume this pack is to be taken out of the running?" Andromeda asked, a small furrow in her brow as she drove them through the midday traffic. They'd started the interviews at nine. Pack Shacklebolt's house hadn't been small. 

"Yes." Hafwen turned to face the front of the car, breathing another sigh. 

"Shame. Cousin Regulus has been waiting such a long time." Andromeda murmured. 

Hafwen chose to ignore the comment. Director McGonagall had said a maximum of ten years of an age gap when she'd first looked at the red folder. This had _clearly_ been more than ten years, more than her lifetime. In all honesty though, they had been nice. Regardless of the age gap. They just weren't her campfire. She straightened in her seat and heard the Beta sigh beside her. They were going to meet that pack next. They were heading back into the city. To Black Coffee. To Dark Chocolate. To Fireworks. To Toffee Apples. 

To **Campfire**. 

She could feel her heart racing. Could feel her reactions to them with just a thought. She closed her eyes and tried for calm. Just because she wanted them in this way, didn't mean they'd want her. There were eight Alpha's in this pack. Five of them made her breathless with only a whiff. The other three smelled safe. Like childhood memories, which was an appeal all of it's own. Not perfect matches, but agreeable ones. More agreeable than Pack Shacklebolt's scents. More agreeable than the pack they would be meeting afterwards. If she hadn't been completely ruined by then. Mentally she couldn't see herself picking anyone _but_ campfire's pack, but she thought of Narcissa and her Beta brain told her to _cool her jets_. She still had time. 

It had been three days since the 'Scenting of the Packs'. It deserved capitals in her mind because it was an event and a half, and dad always did like making a big thing of small events. If she was right that it was one of Ron's brothers, of which she had no doubt it was. Then she knew a little about what she was getting into. They couldn't be too different to Ron, surely? A little boisterous, a little loud. They were heading back into the City which meant a large town house. Possibly a block of flats? Possibly something similar to her parent's city home with hidden nesting rooms scattered throughout. Maybe even a summer house, that was more a mansion to get away when the height of the heat happened. But there were eight Alpha's and Hafwen was aware that Ron did not have eight Alpha brothers. Only four, with one a Beta and a younger sister that settled as an Alpha with her own pack a year below. 

Hafwen wondered at the dynamics. Wondered what their jobs were. Wondered if they worked together, or separate. Were there Beta's as part of the pack? Would she meet them? Would Ron and Hermione be there if it was one of his brother's? He'd spoken that he'd been in a pack before moving in with her and Hermione. Was this the pack and he's just gone back hoping that his brother's were registered with the Center? Would they allow her freedom in much the same way they'd allowed Ron? She felt herself becoming frustrated with the unknown. A low keening sound in her throat that she strangled when Andromeda cut her a look. She may be getting this all wrong. That the scent on Ron's sleeve had been from a co-worker. But she's seen him come back and change before they'd left for the engagement party at the bar so it couldn't have. Could it?

All she knew was that she wanted to bathe in the scents of the pack she'd chosen. Wanted their scents injected directly into her bloodstream so they could never _leave_. She wasn't even sure that she'd even make it through the interview without spreading herself out on a flat surface for one of those Alpha's and she hadn't even met them yet. She hoped her Omega reactions didn't outweigh her old Beta independence when push came to shove. 

They drove from the suburbs, north into the city, passing the business district where papa had his offices. Moving westward she noted the roads and frowned. Her flat with Ron and Hermione was a few blocks over. They passed more streets, nearing the artisan quarter where her parents lived. They passed there and she felt herself lean forward gaze focused as they kept _going_. Right to the edge of the artisan quarter where it backed onto the docklands. There was an outdoor shopping center and Andromeda pulled into a space near the exit. It was quiet. Too quiet. 

A sign at the corner read Slydor Tower, with a list of business underneath. A quick glance at the store fronts matched the list. Seeker's Sports, Veela Vantiques, Bottom Florist and Dispensary with a marijuana leaf glowing on the side. Weasley's Wheeze's made her smile, she remembered Ron dumping joke products all over her desk in tutor back in secondary school. They were his brother's and they needed to test them. Fun times. She didn't know they had a shop, her dad and papa would love it. She turned to face the building's as she got out of the car. There was a pet store called Dragon Reserve that hadn't been listed on the sign. Must have been new. It looked it. It was only one of the few that did though. One of the few that still looked _open_. The rest looking abandoned and boarded up. 

Hafwen caught Andromeda's pursed lips and sighed. Yeah, it wasn't much to look at but that didn't mean that the pack house was a mess. That the pack was a mess. Right? Her eyes drifted to the main building, tall glass windows allowed you to see into the waiting area and the tall reception desk. There was no one inside. Empty save for a person cleaning graffiti from the windows to the right of the door. The skull and snake symbol had been painted in black. It was a symbol that had been more noticeable of late. It looked detailed, like a tattoo, but morbid all the same. She shivered. 

It was a far cry from the country estate she'd just been at. 

"There's no legal obligation for you to _attend_ these interviews." Andromeda spoke clearly, "You can back out."

"Now, where's the fun in that?" Hafwen ginned, soothing down the skirt on her forest green dress as she began making her way across the car park. Her heels slicking with every step. She was going to see this through. If she made it back out of the interview unmated, she'd call it a success. She hoped that her Potter Luck held true as she reached the doors and opened it. From the outside you couldn't see how over the desk, not properly at least. And Hafwen would have continued her calm façade if two faces didn't pop up over the top that made her squeal and dash forward. 

"Hey mate."

Ron had barely cleared the desk before she barreled right into him. He let out an 'oof' as he collided with the reception desk behind him. The only thing to keep them stable as she hugged him for all he was worth. Hermione had sensibly stayed put and just grinned with a wave as Hafwen looked around Ron's arm to grin at her. 

"I was hoping you'd be here." 

Ron's arms tightened around her shoulder's. His toffee flavored scent warming in happiness as Hermione joined the hug adding the scent of warm ink to the mix. A part of Hafwen relaxed, she was safe. She was fine. Everything would be okay. God, she'd missed them so much this past week. It wasn't right being separated from them. They were **pack**. Now and forever regardless of designation and bonds. The golden trio, always getting into mischief.

"We'd been hoping that you were the one who wanted the interview." Hermione spoke softly as they pulled back. The door opened behind them as Andromeda caught up and Hafwen pulled away slowly only for Ron to tuck her under his arm. She noted the frown on her face but the elder Beta said nothing and just nodded. As if that was a que of some sort a door further behind the desk opened and closed. Soft footfalls indicated the arrival of a blond haired man who froze as he caught sight of them. 

"Um." Hafwen watched as his eyes darted to each of their faces before freezing on Andromeda's. _No, not again_. She felt herself tense as the blond swallowed. "Aunt Andromeda. I didn't realize you were escorting today." 

"I am, though it appears as if my charge has forgotten something." Hafwen frowned and tilted her head, "They are not Alpha's." 

"They're part of the pack." The blond made a strangled noise in his throat that had Andromeda glaring at him sharply. There was something familiar about him that she couldn't put a finger on. Something about his hair, his face shape. 

"I see. And you Draco. Are you also part of this pack?" Draco nodded, his gaze darting to her face as she blinked. 

"Narcissa." She felt, more than saw, Ron and Hermione look at her with bewildered looks. Andromeda smirked, and it was so similar to the elder Omegas cat with cream grin that she wondered how she'd never seen it before. Never connected the dots. She could be so slow sometimes. She wondered who their Alpha sister was. Wondered if that sister also worked with the Omega Center. Possibly security detail?

"Uh... That's my mother." Draco shook his head and straightened. "I came out because they were getting a little restless." 

"Right. Pack interview." Hafwen nodded her head, "Right. Let's go!" She ducked out from under Ron's arm, passing Draco she paused and sniffed. He smelled of dark chocolate and she stepped into him, breathing deeper as he stood still. He was covered in the scent of one of her Alpha's and her Omega brain was desperate to claw his eyes out but she scented _him_ underneath. Waterfalls and calm lakes. She leaned into him, her nose nudging his chest as she relaxed against him. Felt his arms encircle her waist and just breathed as her eyes closed. A happy hum escaping her lips. 

"I know you're new to this Hafwen, but he's not an Alpha either." Andromeda spoke dryly and Hafwen couldn't decide if the woman was joking or not. She rolled her eyes internally. She knew that, but he was also a part of the pack. _Her Pack_. She'd be damned if she walked away now and she hadn't even **met** the Alpha's. Draco's arms came around her waist, squeezing gently as if afraid she'd break. Maybe a few more minutes? She could stay here that long, surely. A throat was cleared behind her and she opened her eyes. Apparently not. She grinned up at him and received a soft smile in return. 

"Pretty." She murmured and watched a dusting of red appear on his cheeks. Aw, he blushed like Narcissa too. She'd have fun teasing this one. In and out of bed. She already knew she liked his Alpha. She shook her head. "Right. Pack meet. They're behind that door, yes?" 

It was rhetorical and she practically dragged Draco with her back down the hallway, causing Ron to chuckle behind them. A part of her hoped Ron would forgive her for what was about to happen. He'd only seen a small part of her reaction to his brother's scent. Now he was going to witness it all. She paused in front of the door, still within Draco's arms and took a deep breath. Her hand reached forward and turned the handle. No turning back now. 

_**"Stop it!"**_ The command instantly had her freezing as the door continued to swing open. Draco was tense behind her and she felt him swallow. Inside the room was a large curved table. It was a conference room with a scattering of chairs and a water cooler in the corner with a bin and potted fern. There was a Beta leaning against the wall there. Tall, blonde, female. Alpha's were scattered though there were two breathing harshly in the center of the room, her side of the table. Nose to nose with one sat behind in the middle chair. His head was in his hands, eyes closed with a frown on his face as he rubbed his temples. He was the one to bark the command. He was the one who'd called the whole room to a standstill.

She whined, thighs pressed tightly together under her dress. Every face turned to face the door. Everyone tensed as if to move towards her. Their grips tight on table top and chairs. An Alpha's bark brought people to heel, an Omega's whine demanded an alpha do whatever necessary to fix, destroy, or satisfy whatever ailed them. But there were rules. They couldn't touch her. Couldn't run the risk of scent marking her. Couldn't use that as a manipulation technique to get her to pick them over all others. Draco's arm tensed around her waist as he pulled her back into his chest. Beta's could touch her. Beta's were _safe_.

"Well done Weasley, scaring her before we even get to meet." The tone was biting, cutting. The accent Italian. Hafwen whimpered again and melted. Draco was taking the entirety of her body weight at that point. The Alpha's all tensed again and then she was moving, being lifted gently into the room so Ron, Hermione and Andromeda could enter. The door closed and she breathed, back on her feet. All of their scents were there, but there was a burning aggressive undertone. This was a pack that hadn't settled. Or they'd settled but something had caused it to break. To splinter. The shards were all their in their scents, the hurt. The _pain_. 

"Sorry." The Alpha that had commanded cleared his throat of the growling undertone that proceeded a bark. He stood, staying on the other side of the table as the two Alpha's who'd been nose to nose moved in opposite directions. The right one went to sit next to a quietly withdrawn Alpha who was looking down at his hands on top of the table. The left went to lean against the wall next to the Beta. Her hackles raised as her Omega brain kicked into fight mode when the back of their hands brushed. She shook her head. No, she wasn't going to be like that. She was fine with the blond behind her, she would be fine with them. Ron and Hermione were here, accepted into this pack. She could accept others. 

"Welcome to Pack Slydor." He was still standing, still watching her with an intense blue gaze, "I'm Charlie. Ron's brother."

"Hafwen." Her voice was a little breathless, her hormones still wreaking havoc after that command. She dug her fingers into the arm around her waist. It was a lifeline. The only thing keeping her stable. The only thing keeping her rooted to that spot and not launching herself across the table into Charlie's arms. Burying herself inside of him. 

Charlie's expression shifted and a warm smile slid across his face. She melted, just a little, not as much as before. She was still being held together by the blond Beta so she knew she wasn't a puddle yet. "I've heard a lot about you, Hafwen." 

"All bad I hope." There was a snort from her right, but she didn't look to see who it was. She did bite her lip though at how she'd sounded. Husky. Her voice had been husky. She watched Charlie's eyes smolder before he shook his head, the warm smile turning into a smirk. _Damn_ , she shifted again her finger's still digging into Draco's arm. She was screwed. She wanted to _be_ screwed. 

"Well. Let's see the premises," Andromeda's clipped tone caused her to send a dark look at the woman. She hadn't called Pack Shacklebolt's house a "premises." She took another deep breath and stepped from Draco's embrace, felt his fingers twitch just before they fell from her body. 

"Thank you...for giving me a chance to meet you all." Her gaze slid over the other's, taking in their expressions. They hadn't looked away from her once, except the one Alpha on the right. It was a little intimidating but a part of her preened under the looks like a peacock. Her Omega brain, it had to be because she'd never felt this way as a Beta. She stepped forward again, watched the way their bodies twitched. The way they froze a little more in restraint, which made her finally aware of the power exchange between an Omega and her Alpha. Her gaze caught Charlie's again. He looked torn between running towards her and running away. In her steady approach to the table she didn't feel just special and pretty and coveted as she had at her last interview. She felt in command, and by contrast out of control. Wild. It made her think of chases across the gardens as a child, friendly spars with other trainees at work. 

One more step and she was just a little too close. Nervous or not, Charlie was still the Alpha who's campfire aroma made her want to present, and right now that campfire was burning steadily. The scent blooming in the space between them. There was a moan in the back of her throat, a tremble in her thighs. It didn't matter that the rest of the pack was there. She only had eyes for him in that second. Her nose zeroed in on _his_ scent and his alone. 

"Hafwen," There was a pause, another clearing of his throat because his voice had been deep again. The gravel of a bark in his tone. "Pretty sure this pack is the one with it's luck turning around." 

"Well, the Potter Luck does like to entice chaos." Hafwen smirked, a purr was started and then stifled in his chest and she felt Andromeda come to stand behind her right shoulder. She took another breath, closed her eyes and then turned to her left and walked towards the Alpha who'd moved next to the water cooler and the Beta. Best to start there. Ron and Hermione were there. It was safe. 

"Let's just see the nest."

" **No**." Hafwen paused in her walk to the Beta's, she looked at Andromeda over her shoulder. Ignored how every Alpha had frowned. How a growl had started up by the withdrawn Alpha before it was cut off sharply. Like they hadn't mean to make the sound. "I want to meet everyone."

Andromeda gave her a look and a raised eyebrow, she noted Draco taking a step back and dropping his head with a grin. The last pack had all introduced themselves to her, told her their professions and hobbies. Why couldn't these guys? Yeah, they was a tension in the air as if one wrong move would cause an explosion. But they deserved a fair chance. She'd pulled their scents from the red folder, they'd been rejected enough. Dismissed enough by other Omega's. A part of her wanted to smack every single one of those Omega's in the face, another part wanted to stick her tongue out at them in triumph. She also wanted to lick all her Alpha's in a childish way of claiming them. Like she did with her favorite sweets so Ron wouldn't steal them while in school. Not that he'd be stealing Alpha's. Not like Alpha's were sweets for her to lick all over and-

Hafwen shook her head as her thoughts derailed. She swallowed and shifted again. Her gaze focused back on the elder Beta. 

"You're a week out. If we stay too long you might..." And then Andromeda _wiggled_ her eyebrows. It wasn't something Hafwen had expected and a short sharp giggle erupted from her mouth before she clapped her hands there to stifle it. Her eyes wide as she took in the amused face of the elder woman. She scented Ron come up behind her and rest a hand on her shoulder. 

"We know this is only an interview." He spoke clearly, "no one here would break protocol and touch her."

"Except Draco and you." The elder Beta's gaze zeroed in on his hand on her shoulder. Goodness knows what she'd thought when she'd been wrapped up in her nephew. An Alpha scent mark during the interviews could lead to an Alpha pissing contest at the next interview. She didn't want that. It would be a rough game of musical chairs and she'd be the last chair left. 

"Well, as you pointed out outside. I'm not an Alpha, am I?" Oh, Hafwen could hear the grin in his tone. Could see the glint of his teeth in her minds eye. Ron was a genius when it came to playing around with people's words. Could strategically manipulate in such a way it left her stunned the first time he'd managed to convince their teacher that they hadn't just played a prank _right in front of him_. That there had been _no proof_ (there had been) and was the teacher _really sure_ that the paint had belonged to them (it had, but they'd acquired it off a six-former taking art for A-levels). She darted a glance across the faces of the Alpha's she could see. Not a single one bristled. Their gazes too focused on her to pay attention. She liked that. That they didn't mind her being friends with Ron, with his familiar touch on her shoulder. That they hadn't minded the possessive arm Draco had had around her waist earlier. It made the Beta part of her brain relax a little. Happy at the thought that this pack was accepting of that fact. 

"Indeed." 

"Well, there's no need to introduce Hermione and Ron. I'm sure you all know enough about each other by now." There was a teasing glint in Charlie's eyes that made her smile behind her hands. The grenade that had been launched moments ago by her escort fizzling out as a dud. "That there is Bill, another brother. The eldest in fact." 

Hafwen turned and once again ducked out and around Ron's body. She was small at five-three and knew how to escape most holds. She stopped three paces from the one who'd been nose to nose with the other Alpha when she came in. He was watching her warily, both him and the Beta beside him, and she tilted her head to the right with a soft smile. His eyes were a shade darker than Ron's and his hair was longer, pulled back in a man bun at the top of his head. Her gaze caught on the fang dangling from his ear. She was also close enough to scent him. He was a warm sand, undisturbed. Not as blistering as he had been when she'd first arrived. 

The Beta beside him smelled of him too and she caught a bond mark poking out from under the collar of her blue blouse. A mated pair then. She didn't mind, he wasn't one of _her_ Alpha's. The woman was beautiful with crisp blue eyes, pale complexion and ash blonde hair. Hafwen felt much like she'd felt in front of Narcissa and could help but absentmindedly smooth her skirt a little as their gaze connected. It took a moment but then the blonde was relaxing a smile filtering across her face. 

"I'm Fleur." There was an accent, faded over time and Hafwen lifted her hand to shake. "Beel and I run the _antiquités_ store."

"Ah, Veela Vantiques, right? Quirky name." Her gaze flickered to Bill who still hadn't _said anything_. She saw Fleur nudge his side with an elbow.

"Uh, yeah." He coughed as his voice came out high pitched, "Yeah, seemed like a good idea after acquiring a ton of artifacts a few years back." 

Poor guy, he was still wound tight obviously waiting for Hafwen's reaction to smelling him on the Beta. Well he was tough out of luck because she didn't mind. Yeah, her Omega brain was throwing a right tantrum in the back of her head but he wasn't **hers**. That went a long way to keeping herself calm and her Beta brain in control.

"Lovely to meet you. You make a great couple." She turned with a wink and heard Bill choke behind her in shock, she caught Ron's gaze as he shook his head at her mischief. She stuck her tongue out at him childishly before having to swallow at the wave of arousal that engulfed the room. She paused, took a shallow breath and closed her eyes. No poking her tongue out unless she wanted to start a riot. Got it. With a nod to herself she took another step forward, staying on the other sider of the table to them she approached the Alpha on the end. 

He was huge. Wide shoulders, heavy set frame. Dark hair closely cut to his head, a deep frown. There was an old bruise at his left temple and she wondered how he got it. She sniffed and felt the icy chill of snow. Not one of hers either. She stopped as his dark gaze landed on her and a smile softened his features. She recognized him but not from where. "This is Viktor." 

"Krum" Oh, there was an accent there too. Bulgarian, maybe? Possibly Russian. Then his name registered and she let out a small squeak that had the heavy set Alpha widening his eyes and moving back a little. 

"Krum. Victor 'Seeker' Krum. The guy who managed to take out his last opponent with a seeking submission strategy within the first round of his new class in the UFC." Hafwen could feel her excitement as she bounced on her toes. She felt Ron settle his hands on her shoulders and squeeze. 

"Calm down, mate. I think you're scaring him." 

"But he's-"

"I know."

"And I -"

" **I know.** "

"I think you're amazing. I've been following your career for a long time." Hafwen nodded at the Alpha who's eyes were still wide as his gaze darted between her and Ron's. "Ron has a photo of you in his wallet next to Hermione's." And with that she moved to the next Alpha, a groan and a scandalized " _Hafwen!_ " followed. Such chaos she was spreading, her papa would be proud. This felt _normal_. This was what had been **missing** at the Pack Shacklebolt interview. She caught Andromeda's eyes and knew the woman understood that this was the pack she was going to choose after all was said and done. She might as well forget seeing the third pack but it wouldn't be fair to them. 

"This is Zambini."

Spice. Dark chocolate. 

"Blaise," the man corrected, with a silky decadent voice, that made her eyes flutter and her to catch the moan in her throat. The Italian. Movement in the background showed Draco moving to stand behind him. She swallowed as she took in his features. Violet eyes in a young aristocratic face. A strong jawline with a straight nose. She licked her lips and watched the violet of his eyes darken into a royal purple, his spicy scent spiking. She wanted to sit in his lap, listen to his voice for hours in private. Run her fingers through the dark hair on his head, add more small braids to the ones she could see. She wanted days in a bed with him exploring _everywhere_. "I deal in... Security."

"I bet you do." She was breathless, leaning forward as Hermione pulled her back gently. Ron was still spluttering in the background and Draco was on the other side of the table next to the Alpha that she _couldn't stop looking at_. A slow smirk raised his lips and ( _damn it!_ ) he had dimples. Dimples that she wanted to lick. Hermione gently steered her past Charlie to the final four Alpha's that she had to meet. She caught the smile on his face and rolled her eyes. Her perfume must be driving them all mad but they were perfect gentlemen. 

Hafwen had to blink as they stopped in front of the next two Alpha's. Her eyes darted between them trying to spot the difference. Nothing. She frowned and sniffed, maybe their scents would tell her. They both smelt of fairgrounds. She leaned forward and took a bigger breath, they both broke out into big grins. The one on the left smelt of popcorn and fireworks under the main fairground scent, his smile was softer around his eyes. The right Alpha smelt of toffee apples and cotton candy, a faint beauty mark right at the edge of his right eye. Invisible if you weren't looking as thoroughly as she was right now. 

"Fred and George. Our twin brothers." Charlie pointed along the line. Popcorn then toffee apple. 

She shook her head as she smelt something _bitter_ for just a moment. "No, George then Fred." She spoke softly, quietly. Still staring at them intently that she saw the flash of surprise. The way they tapped their ring fingers twice in communication. They were **good**. Learned to hide their reactions to continue the ruse. To play the ultimate prank. To protect themselves from outsiders. For those unworthy of their time and attention. 

"Ron told us you enjoyed the canary creams." George pulled her gaze completely and she bit the inside of her cheek. 

"Yeah, papa went mad trying to work out how the biscuits changed to a small bird swimming in his tea." She grinned, "I also enjoyed the extendable ears. Perfect for spying on teachers discussing the answers to pop quiz's." 

"Not so good for listening in on your parents." Fred spoke with a dark grin, her eyes moved to him and nodded. She'd placed one in Remus' office. She'd never known Dora had a daddy kink until then. She removed it as soon as she could. 

"You'll have to show me around the joke shop sometime." They nodded and she moved onto the last two. The withdrawn Alpha and the second Alpha from the fight at the start. 

She studied them. Both had light brown hair but while one left it shaggy the other's were a mess of tight curls. She wanted to pull them straight and watch them spring back. _Not yet_ , she thought as she shook her head and approached. Hermione backed away but Hafwen could still feel her hovering. Protective. She smiled softly and crouched down, resting her chin on the table as she looked across at the withdrawn Alpha who had stiffened at her approach. There was a story there. A painful one. This was her rose bush. Once again not one of the ones that brought forth wicked ideas. He brought forth comforting days in the summer sun. Dirt covered cheeks and small hands buried in mud. 

"Neville" Was spoken into the silence, as if they were all bracing for their interaction. 

"Hi." She spoke softly, quietly as if scared of startling him. She got a flash of brown eyes as he looked up for a moment only to duck his head again. 

"Hello." His voice was soft, as if he'd trained himself to make himself less of a threat. 

"Do you sell lilies?" She asked, watched as his head shot up fully. Caught a rounded face, slightly chubby cheeks. Oh, he was _young_. Younger than her by three years at a guess. If he was the owner of the florist, which he had to be as there was a bit of dirt dusting his sleeve, then he was also the grower of the dispensary it also housed. Such a contradiction in roles that it made her inner chaos demon happy.

"You like lilies?" She nodded and watched his face bloom into a beautiful smile that took her breath away. He wasn't one of hers but she'd protect that smile with her entire being if he'd let her. "I have a small lily garden. My grandmother gave me a _gloriosa modesta_ , maybe you'd like to see it?"

"I would. I should give you one of my mum's _gloriosa superba_ , I like how the petals remind me of flames." She watched him nod. "Do you run the dispensary too?"

"About that-" Andromeda started from behind her. 

Neville cut the Beta off at the quick, his eyes sliding over her shoulder. "It's licensed. Above-board. No additives. No under the table sales." His words were clipped, the bark of an Alpha in his tone without the usual volume. After a few seconds she watched a blush steal over his cheeks as he ducked his head once more. She wanted to pinch them. His Alpha bark hadn't effected her the way that Charlie's had done. It just made her feel like she did around Teddy. Like this person needed protection from something, regardless that he was an Alpha. 

Hafwen took a deep breath again. Felt the gaze of the final Alpha drilling into the side of her face as she moved slowly to stand and smoothed down her skirt. Her eyes caught on those tight curls in his hair as she faced him. Her hand twitched at her side as she resisted reaching out. Resisted touching. They watched each other carefully. Here was Black Coffee, the last of her kryptonite Alpha's. He was leaning back in his seat, his brown eyes soft like melted chocolate as they ran from her feet all the way to the top of her head before catching in her gaze. His pheromones were expanding in the space between then, enveloping her in the bitter sweet scent of him. Coffee had never made her so needy in a sexual way. Hafwen whined again, watched as this Alpha slid to the edge of his seat, his legs spread wide in an invitation to her and the thick outline of a cock against his black slacks. 

"You're going to break my heart if you choose another pack, spitfire." He murmured, eyes smiling while he made her chest ache. She didn't even know his name and already she felt that she'd go to war for him if he asked. 

An arm circled her waist, and she found herself surrounded by waterfalls with a hint of dark chocolate. A gasp left her as she leaned back. Unaware of when she'd started to try and climb over the table to reach her last Alpha. 

"That's Theo, love. He runs our accounts for us." Draco whispered in her ear, his lips brushing the delicate shell and she _moaned_. 

There was a sharp clap behind them, that caused her to jerk in the blond Beta's hold. Her wild eyes connecting with Theo's before she blushed hotly and turned to peer at Andromeda around Draco's arm. 

"No emotional manipulation, please." Andromeda said, but it wasn't so biting. She knew, probably as well as Hafwen did, that the chances of her breaking that mans heart were slimming with every second that passed. 

"Now, about that nest." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 25/02/2021 22:06GMT
> 
> The time and date above is when I started this chapter. This monster of a chapter. Previous times and dates were when I finished.  
> I may still post those but probably not. The start shows how long it took. Much more entertaining don't you think? 
> 
> I no longer use word documents. I type as I go. Keeps me on track I think. Feels more real this way. Updates are better.  
> No loss of memory sticks with the files. Do you agree? 
> 
> Thank you for your continued support. I hope you like my choices. A lot of thought went into them.  
> A lot of rejections and deciding of designations. This pack, and it's people, are my Omega. My precious, contradictive Omega.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was hard. Probably the hardest.  
> This pack seemed to have exploded. They certainly weren't cooperative.  
> Hafwen didn't help. At all. I'm pretty sure she grabbed popcorn to eat while watching me struggle. 
> 
> Pack Marauder's members proved to be much more helpful. If a little more unrefined...  
> That's the best way to describe how Sirius decided to be. Unrefined but protective all the same. 
> 
> Thank you to all those who have left kudos, bookmarked, commented and subscribed.  
> I didn't expect this level of reaction when I posted that first chapter. This was just to have something to clear my head of it.  
> I never expected to continue. Thank you.
> 
> Thank you to [LivinginCorsets](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LivinginCorsets/pseuds/LivininCorsets) who has helped me nail down some roles that the pack has. And who may have, inadvertently, kick started the chaos of this chapter.

_"Now, about that nest."_

It was like a switch had been flipped. It caused Hafwen to blink at the change. The heady sweet scents that had surrounded her only moments before gained... an edge to them. A sharpness that allowed her to breathe a little easier. To clear her head a little bit more. 

"Right. The nest." Charlie spoke somewhere behind her, Draco's arm around her middle tensing minutely before he moved to tuck her into his side. Her gaze was still on Theo and she watched the melted chocolate of his eyes harden, darken with an emotion she couldn't fully place. 

"You _do_ have one, correct?" Andromeda asked, the rustling of fabric announced that she'd probably crossed her arms. Hafwen continued to watch Theo, he was straightening in his seat, muscles tensing as if getting ready for a confrontation. 

"We have a room. It needs... well, it's just a shell of a space at the moment." She watched the flinch to Theo's eyes and wondered how bad it could be. 

"Your old one-"

"Is being renovated." Theo spoke, shoulders tensing as he came to stand, his eyes never leaving her face. There were locked in a battle of wills, but she didn't know what she was battling for. "We've been a little... estranged from one another. New members have joined that we weren't fully aware of."

Hafwen heard a muttered grumble followed by a grunt from somewhere behind her, watched as Theo's eyes flashed in irritation. Oh. _Oh_. Hadn't she noticed at the start. The tensions that ran rampant. The bitter tang of _hurt, pain_. This pack had been split. Gone their separate ways. Rejected by Omega's one too many times. This was probably the first time they've been in the same room together in _years_. The abandoned and boarded up buildings in the street were testament to that. 

"So, there is no nest." She heard the dark judgement in the Beta's tone, watched the tensing of Theo's shoulders. Felt the flinch in the arm Draco had around her. The way Neville curved his shoulders to make himself _smaller_.

"There's a nest. The bare bones of one." Theo took a breath, bracing himself, "This may be an office building but the top three levels are flats which we had made for times where it was required for us to stay here for extended periods of time. We are currently in the process of moving back into them. It's bare minimum but the renovations of the initial pack house should be finished within a few weeks." 

"We didn't expect to find an Omega. Not with the Center or on our _own_." Hafwen turned to look at Neville, his eyes were pleading with her to understand. And she **did**. _God, did she understand._ Dora wasn't part of her parents original pack, there had been another before her. Another Beta who'd been best friends with her papa, dad and Remus in school. When they'd started the process of looking for an Omega everything had been fine, then papa had presented. His Omega _rejected_ his friends scent. They'd tried to make it work, it was stressful. Her papa didn't talk much of the time she was born, she didn't remember that Beta at all. She'd only seen pictures, but she knew it had hurt her papa to lose a friend that way. Anything could hurt and break a pack. For papa it was just his friends scent, for Pack Slydor it had been one rejection too many among strong minded individuals. 

"It's fine." She had to clear her throat, blink back the tears gathering in her eyes, "honestly." She tried to smile for them, "Anything will do." 

She watched the grimace that Theo made as he turned his face away from her. Like he couldn't stand for her to see him flay himself alive mentally for not having a place for her. For giving up hope. As she looked at the pack members from under Draco's arms, they all had the same expression. The same guilt for giving up hope. The only one's to meet her gaze where the Beta's. They didn't have the same pull to Omega's that Alpha's did. The same biological resentment for not being able to _provide,_ to _care_ for their Omega.

"Let's just see it then." Andromeda said. Her sharp gaze sweeping across the line of Alpha's, "With less of an audience maybe. So we don't overwhelm the Omega." 

"Hafwen." Charlie stood tall as he made his was around the table, "Her name is Hafwen. Not Omega." 

His blue eyes were narrowed and there was a dangerous edge to his campfire scent. She wanted to preen like a peacock again. _Stupid Omega brain._

"It's no good," Draco whispered in her ear again as Charlie all but marched to the door and held it open. "We'll do up something better for you, honestly. Just until the main house is ready." 

She turned her head to face him, to watch his expression as he winced a little, "The pack house hasn't been lived in for a few years. There were some... damages that needed to be fixed."

"And you all only got the call a few days ago." Hafwen nodded in understanding, her arm wrapping around his waist and squeezing in comfort, "I understand. This situation has been a shock to us all I think." 

"A good shock though." She watched him smile, little crows feet appearing at the edge of his grey eyes, "The best." 

Hafwen just smiled, stopping them before they left the room she ducked from under his arm and turned back to face the Alpha's they would be leaving behind. "It was nice to meet you all." 

A few managed to smile for her, all of her kryptonite Alpha's were staring at the back of Charlie's head with worry on their brows and fear in their eyes. How bad could the nest really be that they all looked so hopeless?

* * *

The phone was ringing. It was muffled to him but he could still hear the annoying tone. He sighed and licked his lips, grimacing a second later at the taste of oil. Yeah, he'd just changed the oil pan in Remus' car. The fucker had spilled all over him at the bad angle he'd been in while trying to fix it. The phone had stopped ringing as he slid from under the car and grabbed his rag to wipe as much grease and oil from his face and fingers that he could. Lily would castrate him if he left a smudge on anything again, as much as he loved winding her up to watch her go off he loved his dick more. Well, James loved his dick and he did everything to make James happy. He should probably call whoever that was back right? The phone began to ring again. 

Sirius sighed as he stepped from his workshop garage into the main hall of the house. He was the only one home. After Hafwen's call they'd retreated to the bedrooms upstairs and Lily had put her foot down about them all moping about the house. They'd heard from their Prongslet, the interviews were in the process. She was as okay as she was going to be until after her heat. He growled in his chest at the thought of Alpha's near his baby girl. Yeah, Hafwen wasn't his biologically but it didn't matter. What was DNA when you were pack? And so everyone had gone back to work. Lily back to nursing, James back to his office, Remus to his bookstore, Dora to her criminal cases and Teddy to school. He was between builds so it was easier for him to stay home just in case they got another call from Hafwen. Or any update at all. 

"Pack Marauder." He spoke clearly into the receiver, scratching at the stubble on his jaw absentmindedly. 

_"Ah, Sirius. This is Hermione."_

"Hafwen's friend, right?" 

_"Yes. We had a pack interview today. Hafwen is doing fine, she'd gone to visit the nest."_

"Pack interview?" Sirius blinked as his brain clicked on, "Pack interview! Which one? Where is it? Did those Alpha's keep their grubby mits from my girl? Did they treat Prongslet like a princess? They better had or I'll find them and rip their little co-"

 _"Everything's fine! It went well. Never seen a reaction like this before. They adore her."_ There was a pause as Hermione took a breath on the other end of the line. Sirius could feel his panic and the images of Alpha's sniffing around his _baby girl_ like a pack of wolves had his blood boiling. _"It's Ron's brothers pack. If she's chooses them we'll be joining officially. She'll have us there."_

Sirius breathed. He'd met Ron and Hermione. They were Beta's, they were safe for Prongslet. She'd claimed them as pack regardless of the rules. He knew she had in the way all three of their scents were mingled in the same way that Remus and James' scents mingled. Nothing sexual, just the belonging of a pack. He'd also heard from Ron about his brothers. Of their pack that used to be more than them. He worried, mind going back to the few years before and after Hafwen were born. Of their broken pack that had been patched together by a child and then later allowed to heal with Dora and the arrival of Teddy. 

"She's safe?" That's the only thing he was worried about. Broken packs can either make or break a new Omega coming into that environment. There was still a part of James that was _missing_ , a part that he'd _never_ get back because Peter would **never** come back. 

_"I'm not going to lie. It's tense. Alpha's you know?"_ Sirius heard a gush of air as the young Beta sighed into the phone, _"But she's good for them. She'd visiting the nest and they're all just quiet. Calm. I've never seen them like this. Not since they all arrived at least. I think this is the first time they haven't started shouting at each other."_

"Omega's do that Hermione. They calm everything." He took a breath himself, heard the catch of the front door as it opened, "How many is there? How many did she react to?" Arms encircled his waist and a nose rubbed between his shoulder blades, the scent of fire surrounding him. 

_"There's eight Alpha's in total. Four Beta's including Ron and I. She reacted to five of them. Wasn't even bothered by the Beta's and their ties to the Alpha's within."_ There was a pause that made him tense again, the phone's receiver creaked in his grip, _"I think she may have even reacted to one of the Beta's. He smells of water, calm lakes, and she almost fell asleep in his arms. I've never seen a reaction like that."_

"Omega's react to Beta scents differently that other Beta's or Alpha's." Lily murmured into his back before he turned and tucked the red-head under his arm, ducking to press his nose into her neck and breathe. "It is possible for an attraction to form. Even more possible if they have a tie to an Alpha that they've chosen."

"Did you get that?"

_"I did. This is fascinating. I didn't know these type of reactions existed."_

"Don't go turning my girl into a science project Hermione." Sirius joked as he lifted his head, feeling a featherlight touch of a kiss against his chest. 

_"Oh. Sorry."_ There was a crash on the other end of the line that had Sirius and Lily both freezing, _"Shit. I've got to go. Looks like there's a time limit after Hafwen has left the room."_

The dial tone sounded in his ear and he blinked rapidly. Trying to get a hold of his emotions at the thought of _his baby girl_ being in a violent environment at this moment in time. _Eight Alpha's_ , his mind happily supplied him as he started to turn to head for the door. 

"Where do you think you're going?" Lily had a fistful of his top that strangled his neck as he moved and she didn't. He was pretty sure there was a dark aggression to his scent because the fire that had been soothing moments before was starting to blister the longer he took to respond. All he could see in his head was Hafwen, running from a pack of Alpha's with bruises covering her skin. A growl built in his throat the more he thought of it. There was a rip as the fabric of his tee gave way and he was moving, stomping towards the door. 

Sirius had only gone three steps before something collided with his back causing him to stumble forward stopping just before he crashed into the door he'd been heading towards. Lips brushed the juncture between neck and shoulder and he stopped. A tongue flattened against the bite there causing the growl in his chest to stutter and taper off. _God's damn this woman_. 

"Lily." He swallowed as his voice came out rough, "I've got a bunch of pups to teach a fucking lesson to." 

"And prey tell, oh great one, _how_ are you going to teach them a lesson if you _don't know_ where they are?" Lily's lips brushed over the bite as she spoke. Small shocks of arousal speared through his body and he swallowed again. His hands had automatically caught her legs as she'd wrapped around him from behind and he brushed his thumbs over the fine material of her tights. 

"Lily."

"Don't _Lily_ me. I heard those sounds just as much as you did." There was a puff of air against his neck, "Hafwen can protect herself. She won't take any shit from those Alpha's." He felt her grin before she kissed her bite on his neck again causing him to shiver. "Now, we promised to pick James up from work and you know how he gets where we're late. Save you lessons for when she brings them over to meet us."

"Lily." 

"No." She nipped at her bite and Sirius swallowed a moan. This was emotional warfare at it's finest. He squeezed her thighs, hearing her gasp into his ear and a smirk lifted his lips. "Don't even think about it Sirius Black." But he was already thinking of it. Had already moved his right hand up, under her skirt and around to her arse where he'd placed _his_ bite on her. A brush of his finger's had her jerking on his back, her hands gripping at his chest where they'd come to rest to keep her in place when she'd tackled him. Felt her nails pull across his skin as she brushed his bite again. "Fucking prick..."

"All's fair in love and war Lils." He caught her gaze from the corner of his eye, their scents mixing in the hall as their arousal grew. "Plus, you started it." 

"James will be so mad if we're late." She tried again and Sirius had to admire her for that. He bit his lip as he thought. "James would want to join us."

Sirius blinked, nodded and removed his hands allowing Lily to drop back onto her feet. "Let's go get our Omega. Then we can plan how to teach those pups a lesson. James would want to help." 

He caught the slight paling of Lily's face as he finally left through the door. The mayhem of adding James and all that Potter Luck into the mix made him laugh manically to Lily's car as she followed him cussing up a storm. James would love to help, and then he'd enthusiastically reward them for letting him plot the demise of the pups who were going to defile his Prongslet. It was a win win situation. In the back of his mind he realized that Lily had gotten her way. That Lily had perfectly manipulated him into forgetting to go after that pack himself. That she had distracted him perfectly. Now he knew where Hafwen had gotten that trait from, and he had to agree that Hafwen was perfectly capable of dealing with those pups herself. Alpha or not, she'd be running rings around them and Sirius couldn't wait to watch the chaos from the sidelines for once. 

* * *

_Bunch of bloody drama queens,_ Hafwen thought as she caught the eyes of Andromeda before the Beta had rolled them discreetly. Yeah, the nest wasn't the same as the nest Pack Shacklebolt had but it wasn't as bad as they'd made it out to be. It was essentially an open planned flat with a room that led to what she assumed was the bedroom and en-suite bathroom. 'The nest' was situated on the top floor of the building and nestled in the middle of the hall way at the end with two other flats bracketing it. It was a lovely space with floor to ceiling windows and stainless steel counters in the breakfast bar style kitchen. True there was no furniture and it smelled of the ammonia scent of cleaning products but it wasn't the dungeon room they'd been making it out to sound like. 

"We didn't get time to put furniture in. It was a bit of a mad dash trying to get everyone together." Charlie muttered, looking anywhere but at her still nestled under Draco's arm. There was a dullness to his scent that felt like shame for not having an adequate place for her. For not keeping a place together for her all these years. 

"And as Theo said, this is just temporary. Until the refurbishment is done." Draco added on, as if afraid they'd forgotten that fact in the five minutes it took to reach this space. Hafwen hummed as she moved forward into the echoing space alone. Her fingertips drifting over the steel tops as she made her way to the room that would be the proper nest. As she opened the door and looked in she had to amend her thoughts, _not drama queens after all_.

The room was small, as if all the space had been given to the living and kitchen area. There was a couple of small windows, set high in the wall that allowed a little light in but not enough to fully see. The door to the right was open and she could see a small shower stall, a toilet and sink. There was a layer of dust here, as if they'd cleaned the main room but forgotten to do so in here too. Hafwen walked fully into the space and then blinked as a flip was clicked behind her and the small fluorescent lamp overhead flickered. She could now see a bed frame, still in pieces propped up against the far wall. 

"This is a cell, not a nest." Andromeda muttered darkly as she came to stand at Hafwen's right. "You cannot be serious." 

"That's my dad." Hafwen joked automatically, a byproduct of years listening to that same joke over and over again. 

"Actually, that's my cousin." The Beta said darkly and without humour. Hafwen blinked. No. _No way!_ Her face snapped towards the woman but she'd already turned and was glaring darkly at the Alpha within her sights, "This is unacceptable. I think it's time for us to leave."

Hafwen blinked again, this time more rapidly as her brain tried to change gears after the bomb that had exploded. "Wait!" 

Everyone froze and she realized she'd shouted, her arms raised in the universal sign of 'stop'. Her eyes were wide and her heart was an energetic pounding inside her rib cage. She was afraid it would burst through her chest. No, she didn't love this nest. But she knew it wasn't her _forever_ nest. It was like the ones at the Center. **Temporary**. She could work with temporary. Hell, there was a nook in the main room that would work better but she had to say something. Had to fix the dark look of shame and defeat she could see on Charlie's face. The saltiness to Draco's calm waterfall scent.

"We could...we could add a carpet, or a plush rug? Something to the walls? Changed the overhead lighting..." She trailed off slowly. 

"It would still be a dark, dusty room with barely and windows and the smell of rats." Andromeda said, practically spitting.

"Maybe some pillows or blankets with the guys scents?" She was trying, she really was. 

"She's right, Hafwen." She turned to face Charlie, he was closer now. The closest he's been, even in the lift he'd kept both Beta's between them. It made the ugly room feel a little better, "Omega's should nest somewhere safe and warm. Somewhere comfortable. This isn't any of that." 

She chewed on her lip and tipped her head back, unconsciously tilting it to the side and offering her throat as his campfire scent warmed the air around her. A pink tongue flicked out and smoothed over full lips before Charlie caught himself and swallowed, tearing his gaze from her neck and back to her eyes. 

"It's temporary right? And there's no space that... smells more like the pack?" She paused, catching Draco's eyes over Charlie's shoulder before looking back at the Alpha.

"There _is_ a summer house. But there are scents missing and the nesting room has become a bit like a storage room..." There was a grimace on his face that Hafwen observed. "It's also a full days drive without stops." So that was a no. She took a step back and observed the room again. 

"Lets head back down to the others." She looked at the Beta who was still glaring darkly at Charlie, "Could I spend a moment in private with them? Please." 

"Fine, but I will be outside the door. Ten minutes from the moment the door closes. If I hear anything I will remove you from the situation." Hafwen nodded in agreement, ducked around Charlie without touching him and grabbed Draco's arm. She practically dragged the Beta out of the flat and back towards the lift. 

It was the work of moments before she was back downstairs and heading back to the conference room. She could see Hermione stood just outside talking on a phone before there was the sound of a crash. It had her freezing just a few steps from the lift, gripping Draco's arm which was back around her. She watched as Hermione ended the call and went back inside, a shout leaked out before the door was closed once more. She blinked as Charlie swept past her and followed. Another shout leaked out as the door opened and closed after him. 

"We are leaving. You are not entering a war zone." Andromeda had stopped beside her and was staring at her pointedly. She swallowed and felt Draco tighten his arm before he sighed and tried to extract himself. She refused. If she chose this pack she had to know what she was getting into. _If_. Yeah, it was more like **when** she chose this pack. Her mind already knew what her heart was telling her. This was **her pack** , and she'd rather fight to the death that let some other little upstart Omega take it from her all because she'd walked away. She wasn't going to walk away. She'd be mad if she did. She's probably mad for staying.

"No. I want that ten minutes to speak to them in private." She squared her shoulders, bulled up every bit of her that made her a Beta that took no shit from Alpha-arseholes and marched her way to that conference room door. She heard the whimper that Draco released as she dragged him with her and opened the door to a room of growls and burning aggressive scents. She wanted to whimper too, but she had grown up Beta. She'd grown up dismantling fights between Alpha's. This did not scare her. In fact, this ignited a fire in her blood and a mad grin to spread across her lips. This was chaos, and she _lived_ for it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 27/02/2021 13:56GMT
> 
> I hope you like. This is shorter than the last. I'm sorry for that. 
> 
> I may also be taking a bit of a break as another story keeps knocking on the door in my head and is refusing this one space to be heard.  
> Feel free to check that one out too. If you wish. If will be A/B/O but will deal with a different premise entirely. 
> 
> Please blame [AlwaysEatTheRude21](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/7235221/AlwaysEatTheRude21#) on FF.net for inspiring me. They have a collection of stories called Sunny Side Up, that are HP and GOT cross overs with a Female Harry as a Targaryen. I'm in love with the JonxHarry pairing. It's A/B/O and what kick started this one.


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